'30 Minutes or Less' -- 2 1/2 stars

'30 Minutes or Less' -- 2 1/2 stars

R; 1:23 running time Roughly half of this film works a lot better than roughly the other half. Crisscrossing between two sets of combustible bromances, the story pivots on Nick, played by Jesse Eisenberg, who delivers pizzas for a living. His buddy Chet, played by Aziz Ansari, teaches elementary school and has a twin sister (Dilshad Vadsaria) who is the love of Nick's semblance of a life. On the other side of town, meanwhile, wastrel sociopath Dwayne (Danny McBride) and his minion Travis (Nick Swardson) plan to kill Dwayne's mean, rich father (Fred Ward) for inheritance money. They need a hostage to rob a bank (?? Oh, whatever) to come up with $100,000 to pay the hit man (an amusingly sinister Michael Pena). The pizza boy-man presents a ripe stooge, indeed, and for most of "30 Minutes or Less" Nick, against his increasingly panicky will, runs around with explosives strapped to his chest, while the criminals alternately threaten his extinction and hang out at strip clubs or taco shops, dreaming of their future. -- Michael PhillipsRead the full review

R; 1:23 running time Roughly half of this film works a lot better than roughly the other half. Crisscrossing between two sets of combustible bromances, the story pivots on Nick, played by Jesse Eisenberg, who delivers pizzas for a living. His buddy Chet, played by Aziz Ansari, teaches elementary school and has a twin sister (Dilshad Vadsaria) who is the love of Nick's semblance of a life. On the other side of town, meanwhile, wastrel sociopath Dwayne (Danny McBride) and his minion Travis (Nick Swardson) plan to kill Dwayne's mean, rich father (Fred Ward) for inheritance money. They need a hostage to rob a bank (?? Oh, whatever) to come up with $100,000 to pay the hit man (an amusingly sinister Michael Pena). The pizza boy-man presents a ripe stooge, indeed, and for most of "30 Minutes or Less" Nick, against his increasingly panicky will, runs around with explosives strapped to his chest, while the criminals alternately threaten his extinction and hang out at strip clubs or taco shops, dreaming of their future. -- Michael PhillipsRead the full review

R; 1:23 running time Roughly half of this film works a lot better than roughly the other half. Crisscrossing between two sets of combustible bromances, the story pivots on Nick, played by Jesse Eisenberg, who delivers pizzas for a living. His buddy Chet, played by Aziz Ansari, teaches elementary school and has a twin sister (Dilshad Vadsaria) who is the love of Nick's semblance of a life. On the other side of town, meanwhile, wastrel sociopath Dwayne (Danny McBride) and his minion Travis (Nick Swardson) plan to kill Dwayne's mean, rich father (Fred Ward) for inheritance money. They need a hostage to rob a bank (?? Oh, whatever) to come up with $100,000 to pay the hit man (an amusingly sinister Michael Pena). The pizza boy-man presents a ripe stooge, indeed, and for most of "30 Minutes or Less" Nick, against his increasingly panicky will, runs around with explosives strapped to his chest, while the criminals alternately threaten his extinction and hang out at strip clubs or taco shops, dreaming of their future. -- Michael PhillipsRead the full review